Howell High School student taken into custody after school receives 'threat of violence'

HOWELL, Mich. – Officials at Howell High School said they received a threat of violence Thursday involving a firearm and a 16-year-old suspect was taken into custody.

Police said a student called the school at 3:30 p.m. Thursday and said another student had commented on a “threat of violence” directed toward the school for the following day.

The Howell Police Department began an immediate investigation.

Investigators were able to locate the suspect and take him into custody within hours.

The suspect is a 16-year-old Marion Township boy. He is currently lodged in juvenile detention awaiting formal charges and arraignment.

The school sent out the following message to parents:

After school dismissed for the day a Howell High School student contacted one of the school’s administrators to report that a fellow student had made a threat of violence against the school. The administrator immediately contacted the Howell Police Department to report this. The police responded quickly and within two hours had interviewed both the student who reported the threat and the student who made the threat. As a precaution, the student who made the threat has been taken into police custody while they continue their investigation. Due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot share more details at this time.

At Howell Public Schools we take any reported threat against our schools very seriously, and we commend the student who reported this to us. While some students may think it is funny to make comments or jokes regarding harming our school community, this is not a laughing matter. There are real consequences for these types of actions.

Lastly, I would like to thank and commend our local law enforcement officials for their quick response to this matter.

Howell High School recently received a threat of a school shooting via Twitter earlier this month.

READ BACK: 17-year-old Howell student charged with threat of terrorism after school shooting tweet

Stay with Local 4 and ClickonDetroit.com as more information becomes available.